Simeon

Simeon, a leading innovator in classroom audio amplification and assistive listening technology, is set to launch the world’s first classroom sound field system with Auracast, Bluetooth’s new broadcast audio standard.

The Audita III, debuting in late 2025, moves beyond brand specific transmitters to a single global standard that simplifies audio management and adapts to every student’s needs.

“Our mission has always been to level the playing field for students with hearing loss, giving them the same opportunity to participate as their peers,” says Jason Rude, president. “That mission has guided each step forward, including our systems already in classrooms today.”

Simeon’s current Audita II systems make classrooms more inclusive by evenly carrying a teacher’s voice across the room and linking directly with hearing aids and cochlear implants. But Audita II achieves this through brand-tied accessories such as the Oticon EduMic, the Phonak Roger transmitter or the Cochlear MultiMic. In classrooms where students use different brands, multiple devices must be connected and managed. The setup is effective but often cumbersome in practice.

Audita III changes that. The introduction of Auracast removes the need for manufacturer-dependent transmitters altogether. No matter the brand, one broadcast standard will reach every hearing aid and cochlear implant. A universal broadcast standard now delivers what once demanded splitters, custom wiring and multiple mics. The result is a classroom that is easier to manage, more reliable for teachers and fully inclusive for students.

The impact is felt at every level. Students with hearing loss receive precise ear-level amplification and equal footing in discussions. Their peers benefit as pass-around microphones ensure that every voice is projected through the sound field system while simultaneously streamed directly into hearing devices, removing the hesitation from missing part of the conversation. Teachers avoid the strain of projecting their voices all day, relying instead on a lightweight pendant transmitter that carries speech naturally through the system. For schools, the shift means lower costs, less IT complexity and technology that remains relevant well into the future.

Being manufacturer-agnostic simplifies the classroom setup when there happens to be a student or more than one student wearing a different brand of hearing aid or cochlear implant

The advantages become clearest in classrooms with the most complex needs. In one special-education class, students used a mix of Oticon and Phonak hearing aids alongside three cochlear implants. Simeon and the school’s audiologist engineered a system that linked five remote microphones to the Audita II. One EduMic fed the Oticon group, a Roger transmitter served Phonak users and each cochlear implant student had a direct mic. All of these inputs were tied into the Audita II with acoustic transparency, giving every device ear-level amplification while the classroom speaker projected sound for all. For the teacher, the setup meant wearing only one lightweight pendant instead of five transmitters.

It was a practical solution, but it showed how complex brand dependent technology could become. With the Audita III and Auracast, that complexity disappears. One universal broadcast will reach every device, turning what was once a careful patchwork into a seamless and inclusive classroom experience.

“Being manufacturer-agnostic simplifies the classroom setup when there happens to be a student or more than one student wearing a different brand of hearing aid or cochlear implant,” says Rude.

Simeon’s timing is deliberate, anticipating a real turning point in 2026, when manufacturers including Oticon, ReSound, Starkey, Signia and Cochlear activate Auracast in their devices. As more students arrive with Auracast-enabled hearing aids and implants, demand for Auracast-ready classrooms will rise sharply and they will be able to take advantage of Simeon’s Audita III.

This moment is about more than classrooms. Auracast will extend into daily life in airports, theaters, restaurants and gyms. By bringing it into education, Simeon ensures that students are prepared to thrive in an increasingly connected world where direct audio feeds are everywhere.

The future of hearing assistance is arriving fast. With the Audita III, Simeon is putting it into classrooms now and the question for school districts is not whether Auracast will come, but whether they will be ready when it does.